Friday, June 19, 2009

For All the Parents To Be

In my fantastic group of friends, right now there are a bevy of pregnant women. This post is for them, and the dad's-to-be, of course.

This is such an exciting time! Being pregnant has its ups and downs; its scary, emotional moments; and moments where you could conquer the world. You wonder if you are up to the task - after all serial killers had moms too, right? You think back to your own childhood, and realize all your parents did wrong. (Yes, I'm being very tongue-in-cheek here - but they are things that ran through my mind.)

Are you ready? Can you really do this? These thoughts are all normal, and yes, you can. In my humble opinion, one of the best things any parent can do is love their child unconditionally. Luckily, that's the easiest part of being a parent. Unfortunately, it's also the hardest part.

In between picking nursery colors and dreaming of what your new little person will be like, I have a game, of sorts, for you to play. Hopefully it will help you chuckle when you need it. Find a nice notebook, or the back of your baby book, and start a log of phrases you never thought you'd have to say as a parent. As time goes on, and your sweet, compliant lump of baby turns into a demanding, mobile, opinionated toddler, go back to that log and write down the date you actually had to say the phrase.

Be creative! Some of my personal favorites are:

  • Don't play in the toilet
  • Don't eat the toilet paper from the middle of the role...start at the end so we have less to clean up.
  • Get out of the dishwasher.
  • Don't lick the dog.
  • Stop biting my toes.
  • You're right! Spaghetti sauce does make good hair gel.
  • No matter how much you cry, you're not getting daddy's beer (I thought we'd have until at least her teens for this one!)
  • Don't eat the... {insert correct word} SD card, twig, rock, sticker, leaf, shoe, bug, paper clip, penny, cigarette butt...

Ok, so forget what I said earlier about love...the most important thing for you to do as a parent is keep your sense of humor!

Good luck to you all! May God bless you with an easy labor and a baby that sleeps through the night quickly.

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